Cannot continue Mission for Bastok 8-1 due to D/C

I am trying to complete Bastok mission 8-1, the chains that bind us. While first trying this mission, I experienced a disconnection during the fight with the 3 antica Notorious Monsters in the quicksand caves. After logging back in, finding myself dead, I warped back to town. I went back to the quicksand caves, killed the Notorious Monsters and clicked on the ???. Nothing happened. I checked my log, which said I needed to talk to Iron Eater (I had already done this and recieved the cutscene). I went back to talk to Iron Eater...he does not have a briefing; I get no cutscene. I went back to the quicksand caves and tried to continue the mission and I could not. I have tried switching nations and I cannot.

Steps:
I have talked to a GM in game, and they referred me to using the online support. I tried email support and they suggested calling or chatting. The instructions to get into online chat were incorrect, there is no online chat option. I called, was told to try the forums. <Please Assist!>

Date & Time:
This issue happened at least 3 months ago; I figured I would deal with it later, if ever, because I anticipated this to be a real pain to get fixed. I am in CST (GMT-6) if that helps.

Frequency:
? The disconnect only happened once, but being stuck on this mission is, at this point, interminable.

Platform:
I play on a PC.

PC Manufacturer & Model Number:
Hewlett Packard
HP Pavillion dv4-1225dx

Operating System:
Windows Vista

Graphics Card:
ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics RS780M

ISP:
CenturyLink

Type of Internet Connection:
DSL